Fast Friends
by Miss Andromeda Prime
Summary: Ironhide teaches Annabelle to drive stick. How fun.


_::Fast Friends::_

_rated T _

_Friendship_

_**Story Summary: **_**Annabelle is now fifteen years old and is holding her drivers-permit. With the help of her Autobot friends, she should do just fine on her test. But what happens when her dad pressures her into learning to drive a five-speed? Who can teach her? Maybe her best friend, a very familiar and close Topkick, can teach her the trade. **

**BUT DAD**, you promised to teach me to drive mom's car today," Annabelle followed her khaki-clad father out the door and onto the porch of the house. "Can't you and mom reschedule this conference thing? This is important to me," she crossed her arms over her chest.

Will Lennox laughed at his daughter. "No, honey, we can't," he shook his head. "Mitch's teacher has rescheduled three times. We can't miss this one."

"But Dad, you'll be shipping out in two days! I'm busy all this week."

Will shrugged. "Maybe you can come along this time? But I know, Annie. I promise I'll teach you."

"Yea, sure,"

Will slipped into the 2001 Saturn driver's seat. "It won't take as long as you think, Annabelle. Maybe I'll show you how later today."

"Be good, Annie," Sarah called out the window. "Ironhide's in the garage. If you need anything, just ask him, okay?"

"Sure, fine," she nodded, rolling her eyes behind her glasses.

"Awww, why does Annie get to stay home with 'Hide? I wanna!"

"Mitchell," Sarah warned.

Will started the car and shifted into reverse, slowly backing out of the driveway. The jaunt into town would take a half an hour, since they lived forty miles out of town. Once the Saturn disappeared around the corner in a cloud of dust, Annabelle retreated into the house, pouting. She fell into the living room couch and stared out the window.

The sun was shining, it was hot, and the sky was spotless. Annabelle opened the windows in the house to let the cool breeze float in and freshen the inside of the house. After bumming some time on her laptop and texting Bumblebee for a while, she slipped her phone into her jeans pocket and disappeared upstairs.

She pulled out her BMX coat and boots, and then her helmet from her closet. Slipping into the items and throwing her old ones into the washroom, Annabelle made her way downstairs with sunglasses at hand and helemt looped on her arm.

Grabbing her key set and sunglasses, Annabelle closed the front door and stepped down the porch. She tied her hair into a braid and watched as the garage door opened beside her, midnight black Topkick rolling out of the shade. Sunlight bounced off the body of the GMC right towards her. Annabelle approached it and put a hand on the hood.

"Hey, 'Hide," she set her helmet on the pavement and walked into the dark garage.

"Hello, Anna," the Topkick replied gruffly.

She pulled a paint-stained tarp from over the hidden object. Ironhide watched his friend wad it into a ball and throw it in the corner of the garage. Annabelle then slipped onto the thin seat and thrust her foot down twice, the bike coming to life. It didn't surprise him. When Annabelle wasn't at work or school or with him at the base, she was riding that dirt-bike she affectionately named Kaon, after a city on Cybertron.

"What are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I'm going down to the quarry," she rolled the roaring bike out of the garage. "Do a few jumps, kick up some dirt. You wanna come?"

Want to? Ironhide liked watching her drive the dirt-bike, but he also was her guardian, so he really didn't have a choice. "Fine. You lead on,"

"I'll meet you down there," she walked over and grabbed her helmet and slipped it on over her brown hair. Then, she pushed in the clutch and clicked into first gear, slowly taking off from the driveway. Once she was in about third gear, Ironhide suppressed his clutch and shifted into first, going after her.

After an hour of watching Annabelle expertly manage jumps and flips, she finally ran out of gas. Pulling the dirt-bike to a stop beside Ironhide's alternation mode, she slid off the bike and took off her helmet, shaking the dust from her braid. With a sigh, she set the helmet on the seat and walked over to her rock, where she spent most of her mornings.

"Out of fuel?"

"Yes," she shrugged. "I'll walk it home later." her voice was downcast.

The Topkick rolled foreword. "Something botherin' you, youngling?"

"Yea," she sighed, sitting up. "Dad promised to teach me to drive stick today, but then he had to go to Mitch's stupid parent-teacher conference," she mumbled. "So now I won't get to learn until he gets back from his next trip down to base. Ugh, having a Dad in the military sucks."

Ironhide chuckled.

"With the exception of you guys."

The Topkick's window opened. "You wanna learn to drive stick?"

"Yea."

"You can drive that thing," he replied.

"Yea, Hide, but dirt-bikes and cars a different. You should know that better than anyone."

He laughed his deep, gruff laugh. "I guess."

They were quiet for a long time. Annabelle shed her BMX jacket, now only wearing a teal baby t-shirt and a yellow button down. Slipping her sunglasses over her eyes, she laid down on the rock. "You think I can do it, Hide?"

"What?"

"Drive stick," she laughed. "Sam can. And he can't do anything."

He laughed. "I know you could if you tried," he replied. "It's not difficult. I learned."

"It's also easier when you are the _car_." she giggled.

This sparked an idea in his processor. "Then why not let me teach you? I could teach you what I learned. It would make sense."

"Would you? Are you sure? Couldn't you get hurt?"

He made a repulsive noise. "Nah, Annie. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure, Ironhide? Ratchet wouldn't like it if I totaled you out."

Ironhide chuckled. "I'll be fine. It can be worse than a battle, can it?"

"No, I guess not," she hopped off the rock. Ironhide opened his door and she slipped into the driver's side of the massive beast. He moved the seat foreword so her feet could reach the pedals. Opening all the windows, Ironhide turned the key in his ignition and pulled the shifting-stick into neutral.

"Okay," he began. "See that lever down by your knee?"

"Yep."

He shifted it into a few gears and then back again. "This is what you're going to shift with. First you'll learn the gears. There's 1-5. The pattern is written on the lever. Grab it and let's try. I'll work the clutch."

Annabelle grabbed the lever and read over the gears. Slipping some hair behind her ears, her dusty hand shifted it foreword. "Like this?"

"Yes," Ironhide said calmy. "That's first gear. Basically that's to get you started. Don't go any faster than 0-5 miles an hour when you're drivin'."

"Sure."

The Topkick lurched foreword. Ironhide's engine made a high pitched whine. Annabelle gasped and released the lever. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he laughed. "When you hear that noise, its the transmission telling you that you're going too fast for that gear."

"Okay."

"You'd shift into second."

Annabelle did, Ironhide walking her through the pattern. Clutch suppressed, she made her way down to neutral. The GMC pulled to a stop. He then began to instruct her again.

"Now we're going to learn the pedals."

Her face paled a few shades. "Oh slag..."

"Don't worry. It's not hard," he continued. "Now. Brake is in the middle, clutch to the left, gas at the right. You know the drill."

"Yep."

"Now, the clutch is a little tricky. To shift into a gear you have to suppress the clutch all the way down. Try."

Annabelle did.

"Good," he said roughly. "Now, shift into first."

She did so.

"Perfect." he chuckled. "Now, let's go foreword."

"Okay."

In a split instant, Annabelle depressed the clutch and slammed her foot into the gas, jerking the lever back. The cab jerked foreword quickly, jerking her foreword and backwards like a roller coaster. Ironhide's transmission whined and the car died.

"Easy!" he yelled. "We have to release the clutch and press the accelerator at the same time! Otherwise you'll kill the motor."

"Sorry," she said nervously.

"Try again." he huffed. Annabelle's hand was shaking as she touched the lever. "Don't be scared, Annie," he said calmly. "I'm sorry."

"D-Don't worry about it."

He relaxed. "Now, Annie, as you let up on the clutch, press down on the accelerator slowly. That'll make you go foreword. Try."

She did. After multiple times of killing the engine and rough starts, she finally threw her hands into the air and sighed, exasperated. "I'll never learn this!" she shouted. "It's too hard!"

"Annabelle!" he raised his voice. "You're not giving up!"

"But I'm hurting you!"

He growled. "I'm fine. It's like a pinprick! Now, _try again_."

"Fine," she muttered. "But if I hurt you again, I'm done."

Fifteen minutes went by. She killed the engine two more times, the others only being shaky starts. Ironhide felt her feet depress the clutch and push onto the gas. Annabelle was doing really well for her first time, and she was doing just fine. They went in circles slowly until she could slip the clutch perfectly and smoothly.

"Okay. Good."

"Are you okay, Ironhide? Honestly?"

"I'm okay," he chuckled. "You ready to try shifting and slipping the clutch?"

"Sure,"

He cleared his throat. "Okay. Once we get to about 15 miles an hour, you'll hear that whine in my engine again. Once you hear it, push on the clutch, let up on the gas, and shift. Got it?"

"Okay," she said cautiously.

The went foreword through the quarry, Annabelle's small frame enveloped in Ironhide's massive body. Soon his holoform appeared beside her as she turned right, rumbling just below 15. His big hand touched hers on the lever. She looked at him. The engine whined, and he cringed.

"Shift, now!" he said excidedly.

"Okay!" she shouted. She pulled the lever back.

"Now go!"

"I'm _going_!"

At about 35, the engine whined again. Ironhide tried not to cringe, but he did, and he said through gritted teeth: "Third, go!"

Annabelle released the gas, pushed the clutch, and pulled into third.

"Good! Now get on the road,"

She nodded.

She got onto the road, and he slipped the seat-belt around her. He squeezed it tight and his hand uncovered hers. She was shaking slightly, getting flustered. "If you ever can't remember what gear you're in, always put in the clutch, Annie," he said shouted. "It doesn't do anything!"

"Okay!"

At 49, the engine whined again.

"Fourt-"

She was already in fourth.

He beamed a look of pleasure at her. "Very good, Annabelle,"

"Thanks,"

They soared down the gravel road, his tires licking up the dirt. They bounced along, Annabelle manuevering the truck around pot-holes and around corners. At 50 she shifted. His holoform clicked off and he laughed.

"You're doin' great, Annie! Just perfect!"

She laughed with him. "I guess,"

"Now, at the same speeds as we accelerated, down-shift and stop. Always be in first when we stop. Okay?"

"Easy enough."

"Now try."

She revved the engine, and they stopped a few moments later. Ironhide instructed her to do it all over again, and she did with little difficulty. After perfecting her skills for over an hour, she was driving like a pro. He was proud of her, and himself. She pulled back into the quarry, and he took the wheel from there.

Flying through his own gears, Ironhide pushed 75 through the quarry. He downshifted when necessary, Annabelle pressed into the seat. He whipped donuts, cookies, turns, kicking up dust everywhere. She screamed in pure delight. Soon he approached the bike and whipped the wheel right, spinning them in a 360 degree turn. They stopped and he let the clutch up.

"Pretty soon I'll have you doin' that yourself, youngling,"

"Wow," she laughed. "That was awesome!"

He chuckled. "All part of the game, sister."

"Thank you," she sobered and gripped his wheel. "For teaching me, Ironhide. It was fun. And I'm sorry for hurting you."

"I'm okay, Annie, I promise," he chuckled. "It's almost two. Load that bike up and let's get home. You're drivin'."

"Sure thing," she hopped out of the cab and loaded and dirt bike with ease into his bed. The door slammed closed beside her and her jacket sat beside her in the passenger seat. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Good." he settled down for the ride. "You drive. Don't ask for any help, cause lesson's over."

She laughed. "Okay, 'Hide."

As she said this, her foot pressed onto the clutch and she pulled the stick into first. They crept foreword and once they were on the gravel road, she flew through the gears as she approached the appropriate speed. Not once did they lurch, rev or die. Ironhide was smiling internally the entire way.

"Thank you Iron-hide!" she yelped.

He chuckled. "No problem, kiddo! Now, let the master show you how it's done!"

He took over and roared past their house and onto the main road, holoform clicking on.

They joyrode the rest of the day.

**A/N: Haha, I thought that would be fun for Annie and 'Hide. I just learned my five-speed Saturn yesturday, and I thought it would be kinda fun. :) I just imaged Ironhide teaching me how to drive stick and thought it would be funny. Hopefully this gives you some idea how to drive stick, and for those of you that know how, rock on! The rest of you...get out and learn. Should I delete this, or is it okay? Anyway, please tell me what you think and God bless you! :)**

_The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped._

_~Psalm 28:7_


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